Our new Indie Games subforum is now open for business in G&T. Go and check it out, you might land a code for a free game. If you're developing an indie game and want to post about it, follow these directions. If you don't, he'll break your legs! Hahaha! Seriously though.

Our rules have been updated and given their own forum. Go and look at them! They are nice, and there may be new ones that you didn't know about! Hooray for rules! Hooray for The System! Hooray for Conforming!

Here's a list of games you can register on Steam. You can always add a non-Steam game to your Steam games list, so that people can see you playing it. You can also use this to add your own shortcuts with fake names to your Steam games list to make it look like you're playing Episode 3. Hilarious

3. If I buy a game pack that already includes a game I own, can I gift that game?

Not usually. You're welcome to ask in this thread, although if you Google it it'll probably be answered even faster.

4. Why isn't __Insert Game Here__ available in my horrible little corner of the earth?

Many Steam games might be unavailable in your country if you have the temerity to live outside of the United States. This is not Steam's fault. Regional game availability is determined solely by the publisher, who should be the source of your ire. Gifting works regardless of region so you might find some helpful person in North America who can gift you the game.

The most convenient way is to just post a link to your Steam profile page (getting one of the swank signatures described below makes it easy) and ask for an invite. Just as a word of advice, we tend to prefer that you be a regular contributor to get an invite to the group. The rule of thumb is 6 months of activity on the forums. We are well known for our generosity, and like to make sure any new additions are here for the good of the community, and not to leech during sales. That said, we're a friendly group, so make yourself at home and start posting and you'll be there in no time!

6. How does trading items/games work?

Trading is now built in to Steam, hurray! Read all about how it works right here.

Some Words on Gifting

If you receive a game or pack via a gift or a contest, remember to thank that person either through a PM or by announcing it in the thread. This is not optional. We are classy gentlemen and will act as such.

Steam's new gifting features allow you to store up games in your gift bank when you purchase them, instead of having to email yourself the gift link. It'll be an option during checkout.

A few things to remember as a giftee:

1. Make it possible to track you from PA Forums to Steam. A link directly to your steam ID is usually the most convenient. Remember, your Steam ID is different than your steam name. If you just include text to your steam name, we have to search and scroll through 5 pages to find you (and we may not find you if you're not using the same name/avatar combo!).

2. Make it possible to track you from Steam to PA Forums. Best bet is using similar avatar/name. Understandably, some people don't want to do that. In that case, you should have "I'm ______ on Penny Arcade Forums!" in your profile blurb.

Generally speaking, if you're selected for a gift from a stranger on here it will be, usually, one of two ways:

You will either post in the thread (so they will go to your profile to friend you and then to the store to send a gift.

—or—

Someone will want to gift a certain game and go to the store page where you can see everyone who has it on their wishlist.

Also, remember that a gifter can see when you added a game to your wishlist. If you add it on the day of the sale, you might have a smaller chance of being gifted it than someone who has been interested in it since release. Gifters should also make sure they are identifiable from Steam to PA Forums. Some people are shy and are too nervous to message a gifter and say "hey thanks, I have no idea who you are on forums!"

An Important Word on Contests

If you decide to run or participate in a giveaway contest for gift copies of games, please remember that all entry submissions must now be made via PM. The forum mods have stated that pages of the thread being filled with pictures, videos, etc. submitted as contest entries will lead to such contests being banned. So please, for the sake of the thread – take it to PMs.

Helpful Stuff

Steam Mover
Does your Steam library have 800 games? Do you wish you could move some of those games to different hard drives instead of deleting them entirely and then downloading them again when you want to play them? Steam Mover is here for you.

It reconfigures your Windows IPSEC settings (run it as an admin) to block out all but the servers which don't count towards your download quota on Steam. Now supports a bunch of ISPs through a graphical interface.

Then, use TCPview to close all Steam TCP servers (this is important, NOT the UDP ones, just the TCP ones). Steam will then reconnect to a different server, which will hopefully get you a better speed. If you don't go faster in a couple of seconds, retry until you get a speed you like.

I've also been told you Aussies might want to try Angus Wolfcastle's SteamManager. Setting it up is easy is you follow the instructions here. If you find you're still being charged for your steam downloads, try changing the setting like in this link here.

Cool Community Add-Ons

Steam Signatures
With such a cool service, someone must have done some extra things to build on it. The forums have one such man, who made some super cool Steam signatures. Suds is his name and killing is his game. Except for the killing. The signatures automatically use backgrounds for the games and the correct icon. Pretty neat, and they're 100% free!

Sample signature:

Steam Calculator
You can also use a script on his Steam Calculator page to see how much your Steam account would be worth if you had taken advantage of some obscure, arcane combination of special deals that nobody could ever have taken advantage of. Or something sort of like that.

Steam Roulette
Having trouble picking a game out of your burgeoning [strike]backlog[/strike] gamebank to play? Let VicWhiten's Steam Roulette decide! Just type in your Steam community ID (easier if you set up a custom URL on your Steam profile page), and Steam Roulette will read your library and randomly pick one game every time you hit "Spin the Wheel!" It even connects to Steam to allow you to install or start the game with a single click.

What's all this about serving "The Newell?"
It started with this comic:

Dang guys! I got double-classed today!
Thanks to Witchalok and @Initiate Failure both for Orcs Must Die! I wasn't sure whether to pick it up (even with the ridonks low price), but my mind has been made for me.

I redeemed Witch's copy, so Initiate you have a spare copy to be gifted.

Picked up the IndieGala bundle. Keys arrived almost instantly after the PayPal purchase went through. Wasn't immediately hit with any foreign transaction fees, so unless they show up later somehow then I guess that's not an issue. None of the keys had been previously used. Went cheap this time due to it being a new and unfamiliar bundle, but if they do another I'll probably give the amount I usually give in these PWYW bundles.

An unexpected byproduct of Steam's servers working poorly is that Steam Roulette is also working poorly, so I can't figure out which of my game bank to try out.

Oh well, back to Dredmor.

What exactly is the problem with it? I'll try to take a look at it and see if I can boost loading at all.

I love seeing people using my site I'll look at the analytics every now and then, I get about 20-30 views a day on average, with huge spikes whenever someone posts about it. About a month ago someone reddit'd it, and my total views doubled in 24 hours.

It was kicking up an Internal Server Error, which I assumed was due to Steam being down and therefore not providing a games list. It's working perfectly again since Steam has been.

Got an extra key for Crayon Physics Deluxe, Aquaria, and Dungeons of Dredmor bundle associated with Humble "Introversion" Bundle. Since I like the silly contests for games, here's an easy one. PM me a picture that incorporates all 3 games! I'll let this run about 6 hours or so in case anyone at work is interested so say 9pm EST I'll choose a winner.

Dang guys! I got double-classed today!
Thanks to Witchalok and @Initiate Failure both for Orcs Must Die! I wasn't sure whether to pick it up (even with the ridonks low price), but my mind has been made for me.

I redeemed Witch's copy, so Initiate you have a spare copy to be gifted.

Random, but this has been bugging me forever: how do you @ someone with a space in their name like that? I couldn't figure it out. Granted, I didn't try very hard because I'm a quitter, but still.

Dang guys! I got double-classed today!
Thanks to Witchalok and @Initiate Failure both for Orcs Must Die! I wasn't sure whether to pick it up (even with the ridonks low price), but my mind has been made for me.

I redeemed Witch's copy, so Initiate you have a spare copy to be gifted.

Random, but this has been bugging me forever: how do you @ someone with a space in their name like that? I couldn't figure it out. Granted, I didn't try very hard because I'm a quitter, but still.

You have to put quotation marks around their name, I believe. If you look at @Custom Special's quoted post (or this one) in a compose reply box you can see how it works.

Dang guys! I got double-classed today!
Thanks to Witchalok and @Initiate Failure both for Orcs Must Die! I wasn't sure whether to pick it up (even with the ridonks low price), but my mind has been made for me.

I redeemed Witch's copy, so Initiate you have a spare copy to be gifted.

Random, but this has been bugging me forever: how do you @ someone with a space in their name like that? I couldn't figure it out. Granted, I didn't try very hard because I'm a quitter, but still.

Quotation marks around their name, but not around the @.

Mine would be (a)"minor incident" which becomes @minor incident with a proper @ symbol.

Got an extra key for Crayon Physics Deluxe, Aquaria, and Dungeons of Dredmor bundle associated with Humble "Introversion" Bundle. Since I like the silly contests for games, here's an easy one. PM me a picture that incorporates all 3 games! I'll let this run about 6 hours or so in case anyone at work is interested so say 9pm EST I'll choose a winner.

My Submission

This is kind of awesome.

Add me on PSN, Raptr and Wii U and probably every other gaming service under the name: Corpekata
3ds Friend code: 2251-4724-0730

Holy shit majesty 2 is so damn hard, I've not gotten to the missions where your palace is being overrun by enemies before you can complete a guild, let alone train up enough heroes to fight them off. D:

Dang guys! I got double-classed today!
Thanks to Witchalok and @Initiate Failure both for Orcs Must Die! I wasn't sure whether to pick it up (even with the ridonks low price), but my mind has been made for me.

I redeemed Witch's copy, so Initiate you have a spare copy to be gifted.

Hah damn it! I almost sent it to witchalok after that to make some strange gift circle but I didn't want to inadvertently unleash some ancient slumbering horror responsive to gift circles.

Holy shit majesty 2 is so damn hard, I've not gotten to the missions where your palace is being overrun by enemies before you can complete a guild, let alone train up enough heroes to fight them off. D:

Dear god yes. Still, I'm glad it was made, the first game was tons of fun. Now if someone could just revive Battle Realms.

New thread, thought I'd express my gratitude again to all that have sent me gifts these past few weeks. @Gaardean, thanks for Payday, yo! Need to steal more moneys with you when I've got the time. @Starmanbrand, Runespell is dope, Puzzle Quest-type Poker is a great hybrid! @Adellios, I can now defend dungeons on October 31st, with costumes and missions to match. Rock on! And finally, @APODionysus, the Dungeons of Dredmor will be slightly more safe with the baddies you've enabled me to kill. Consider my cockles nicely warmed, you guys/gals!

Dang guys! I got double-classed today!
Thanks to Witchalok and @Initiate Failure both for Orcs Must Die! I wasn't sure whether to pick it up (even with the ridonks low price), but my mind has been made for me.

I redeemed Witch's copy, so Initiate you have a spare copy to be gifted.

Random, but this has been bugging me forever: how do you @ someone with a space in their name like that? I couldn't figure it out. Granted, I didn't try very hard because I'm a quitter, but still.

Quotation marks around their name, but not around the @.

Mine would be (a)"minor incident" which becomes @minor incident with a proper @ symbol.

Also gentlemen, if you enjoy fun things, I suggest Ghostbusters. It's my guilty pleasures game before heading into Dragon Age: Origins. If you grew up in the 80s and ate, drank and slept Ghostbusters, this game is for you.

If you do not like fun things? I suggest playing Notepad, the exciting word processing simulator.

2008, 2012, 2014 D&D "Rare With No Sauce" League Fantasy Football Champion!